Leni's Teddy Bear
by Lavenian
Summary: After a hurtful deception, Leni receives comfort from a rather unassuming source. Cheni aka Chaz x Leni (Based on the image "Used and Abused" by JFMstudios from DeviantArt, whose art I requested permission to use).
1. Mending

**Disclaimer** : Standard Disclaimer applies, I own no content save that which doesn't exist in the property in question.

 **A/N** : I'm going to be upfront about this, but for the sake of argument, this fanfic is possibly going to be an AU as I'm dealing with side characters with nothing definitive known about them. Consider this canon separate from the series if new details on the show (if any) emerge that may contradict what is presented.

Now onto the story:

* * *

Chaz yawned again while lugging the bag full of soda bottles on his right arm. His sister Dana beat him at rock-paper-scissors to go buy a refill of soda, and he was in the middle of such a nice nap too. She owed him a favor after he got back.

Cutting through the park, he thought about his nice, soft pillow on the couch, and how he'd love to catch more Zs while resting his carrot-top on it. Just as he passed a tree, however, he heard something behind the bushes.

"What the heck is that?" he wondered to himself, moving around in order to find the cause of the noise.

As he rounded it halfway, he was surprised to find a blonde girl sitting down at the base, her teal dress covered in some kind of violet jam, hugging her legs and resting her forehead on her knees, crying in deep misery.

Feeling sorry for her, and wondering what happened, he moved closer so that she could hear him, "Hey, are you okay?"

Raising her head and sniffling, Chaz was surprised to see that it was one of Dana's classmates, Leni, beside herself with a look of pure anguish in her eyes.

"C-Chaz?" she managed to choke out.

"Leni, you look terrible, what happened?"

Without another word or thought, she lunged at him and gripped the threads of his clothes, catching him completely unawares.

"Whoa, Leni, calm down, what's going on!?"

"Adam… and Rebecca… and, and… plum pie…" The words coming out of her mouth seemed like nonsensical babbling, and other than two names and something about pie, Chaz could barely comprehend the meaning of those words as she continued bawling, her tears flowing across his shirt.

Chaz had no idea what happened, but seeing Leni like this was positively heartrending. He knew Leni wasn't exactly the brightest bulb in the box, but she was still a sweet girl with a good, caring heart. He wondered what, or who, in the world could push her into a state of such grief.

Reflexively, he found his left arm going around her waist and his right hand patting the back of her head.

"Leni, it's okay, it's okay, just chill out, I'm here, okay? Just relax."

His words seemed to have some effect as Leni slowed her pace and her breathing grew steady, though punctuated with a few sobs here and there.

When she was able to, Leni managed to say something to him, "Oh… Chaz, it was horrible…"

He continued patting her soft, blonde hair, "It's all right, it's okay, do you want to talk about it?"

Leni shook her head, it was still way too soon to talk about it. He sighed, though he wanted to help her, she needed to open up first before he could. Turning his attention to the traces of jam on her dress, he knew that there was one thing he could do to help her.

"Hey, my house is just a little ways away, and you look like you need to freshen up. It's just me and my sister, Dana, so what do you say Leni?"

She looked up at him, her eyes swollen in a red hue. After wiping some tears away, she managed to mutter an "okay" before Chaz helped her up and they went on their way.

At Chaz's house, his sister Dana was just lounging in front of her computer, mostly watching online videos about how to get the best weapon in her and Chaz's video game.

She heard the door open as she put down her earphones, coming down the stairs to meet her fat brother. She was a tad surprised to see Leni along with him, looking like quite the mess.

"Leni? Hey bro, what's she doing here?"

"I dunno, but as far as I can tell, she could really use the bathroom."

"Of course," Dana walked up to Leni, "Hey Leni, you can use the bathroom in my room upstairs, you need anything?"

Leni managed a reply, her voice low and forlorn, "Like, I guess a change of clothes would be nice."

Dana took note of the pie stains on her clothes, and walked with her back to her room, "Sure thing, Leni, follow me."

As he watched Dana and Leni head up the stairs, Chaz scratched the back of his head wondering what the heck happened to her. He almost forgot about the sodas in his hand and headed into the kitchen to put them away.

Later…

The doorbell rang and Chaz went over to answer it, "Lori, you made it."

The eldest Loud sibling was carrying a duffle bag by her side, "Hey Chaz, where's Leni at?"

"Upstairs, with my sister Dana. Thanks for coming by as quick as you could."

"I came as soon as Dana told me. This has literally got to be Leni's worst day ever."

Chaz sighed, remembering the story that Dana just heard from her, "Tell me about it. Anyway, you better go upstairs and bring in Leni's change of clothes."

Lori nodded and proceeded up to Dana's room. Chaz sat down in the living room to watch some TV.

Leni found out that the guy she was hanging out with, Adam, was just using her to make his ex-girlfriend, Rebecca, jealous so that she'd come back to him. He accidentally sent a message to Leni's phone intended for Rebecca to meet at the park, Leni brought a pie along as a gift for him, but then she found out and the two just dug into her, calling her dumb and a retard. Chaz found her moments later, a complete wreck still reeling from the callous treatment she went through.

After hearing about it from Dana, Chaz didn't really know why, but he was really teed off about it. Dana invited Leni and Lori over for sleepovers every now and then. Leni was, to be frank, a bit dull and airheaded, but she made up for it by being the nicest person he'd ever known. He helped her out during those times when her daftness got the better of her, and even if she did grate on him at times, Leni would always flash a smile and gave Chaz a little something as her way of saying thank you, and he would mostly forget why he was annoyed with her in the first place.

Nobody deserved to be treated like that, to be played like a fool and then kicked into the mud, especially not someone like Leni.

After she was finished with cleaning up and changing, Lori accompanied her sister to their van, looking a little better than she was earlier, though the sting of a personal betrayal still loomed across her expression.

Lori turned around to Dana, "Thanks Dana, I'm really glad you guys were there for her."

Dana gave a soft smile, "No problem Lori."

Leni hugged Dana, who called to her brother to come over to the door, "Hey Chaz! Come on and say goodbye!"

Not really wanting to get up and go but unwilling to seem rude either, he acquiesced to her request.

Lori gave them a wave as she was halfway towards Vanzilla, "Well, we'll be seeing you guys later."

Leni decided to bid both of them goodbye before she followed her sister. As soon as Chaz was next to Dana, she managed to speak up, "Thanks you guys." She said as she hugged Dana, who likewise returned the gesture, "It's my pleasure, Leni."

She then turned to Chaz and gave him a hug too, "Thanks for finding me behind the tree, Chaz, I, like, would have had no idea what I would have done."

He had to admit, Leni hugging him without feeling too sad felt really nice, "You're welcome Leni. If you ever need anything else, me and Dana will be right here."

After the two Loud siblings drove off, Chaz and Dana turned to their living room TV, booted up their console, and started their session on _Imperial Warriors_.

The two barely talked all while they were busy, hacking their way through scores of nameless, identical, digital peons, broken with the occasional encounter of an enemy leader, running through the battle in their practiced routine. To break the ice as a lull came in the fighting, Chaz remarked on today's current events.

"I've never seen Leni all choked up on something before."

"Well, it was basically the first time she had a boyfriend, any girl would get her head in the clouds over it, Leni more so than usual." She said with a snide tone at that last phrase, "It's a real shame that he turned out to be some jerk. That's not a good experience for anybody."

Chaz sighed while his mind drifted to a similar situation that he went through. He used to be bullied a lot as a kid for being, in their words, a "tub of lard" but the worst of it was when they had a new classmate that Chaz seemed to get along with just fine. That is, until Chaz botched this one show-and-tell once, and the "Lard Club" as his jeering team was called, laughed at him. He was really hurt when the new guy ended up laughing with them, wearing one of their colored pins that showed he joined the entourage.

It took a whole year and a change of schools before he could trust people again. Because of that experience, the idea of betrayal was something of a sore subject for Chaz.

"Chaz? Chaz!" Dana shouted, trying to get her brother's attention as he was so distracted that he never noticed that his health bar was in the red.

"Holy-!" He managed to scream before pulling out at the last minute.

Dana turned to him with an annoyed look on her face, "Chaz, are you okay?"

He shook his head, "I'm fine, really! Just thinking about… stuff."

Dana just rolled her eyes, glad that her brother's little mishap didn't ruin their whole strategy.

That night, Chaz was alone in his room chatting with his buddy and Dana's boyfriend, Joey, on his _Courier_ smartphone app.

"That's just harsh, bro. I've heard stories but I never heard of something like this happening in real life."

"I know, she seemed fine when she left, but it might still be there."

"Do you have a plan if you ever see her again?"

Chaz wasn't quite sure how to answer that, he really didn't think he would ever see Leni again so soon, to be honest, "I don't really know. I guess I'll just figure it out if it happens."

Next Day…

Chaz was walking the same path in the park which brought him close to the tree where he found Leni.

Today he felt like he just needed to go take a walk and be by himself for now, just pacing along leisurely with his mp3 player by his side. Perhaps some unseen force was secretly pushing him along as he continued up the way, or perhaps it was just some unforeseeable coincidence compelling two events towards some singular moment in time that neither he nor Leni could have known.

Whatever it was, Chaz's sight was drawn inexorably towards the tree where he had that peculiar encounter just yesterday. Standing there, carving something with a pocket knife against the bark, was Leni; he couldn't see her face, but judging by the tense grip on the implement in her hand and the amount of pressure she was pressing into the wood, he could tell there was definitely something on her mind.

Walking up to her, Chaz could see that Leni was actually scratching out some kind of shape drawn on the tree. Her handiwork made it almost completely obscured, but he could see that it was vaguely shaped like some kind of heart.

He could have continued walking, to pretend as though he saw nothing, but curiosity can be a strong force, even when one knows better.

"Leni?" he said, more audibly than he thought he did.

Leni turned around with a start, surprised to see Chaz looking at her with a puzzled look on his face, "Oh, Chaz… um… like, hey."

He turned his head slightly sideways, looking at the mess that she made on the tree. He cracked an attempt at a joke on it, "So… man, you messed up the bark there real good. What did the tree ever do to you?"

"Nothing, the tree did nothing to me!" She said, clearly attempting to take attention away from it, "I mean, like, it's not like I'm just angrily scraping off the carved heart I made to commemorate me and Adam hooking up the first time and then I found out he was a jerk and now I'm just trying to get rid of this painful reminder of his betrayal. I'm, like, definitely not." She laughed half-heartedly at the conclusion of her sentence.

Chaz wasn't sure what to say, either tell her that she basically said what she probably didn't want to say, or ask her if she wanted to talk about something.

He thought it best to go with the latter, "So, you wanna hang out, or something?"

"Totes!" she said with a chipper voice.

The two teens walked a little down the park, talking about stuff… Well, Leni mostly talked about stuff, fashion and party-related stuff to be precise, and she did most of the talking, Chaz was just listening to his mp3 player and nodding his head whenever Leni turned to him with a question that boiled down to yes or no, though he learned to mostly say yes.

The two eventually came upon a snack stand selling some pocket pies, "O-M-G! Hey Chaz, let's get some pies, my treat!"

Chaz noted that Leni seemed a lot better today than she did yesterday, apart from that brief bit about the tree.

Leni was really digging into her plum pie, "Oh, this tastes so good! This reminds me of that plum pie I brought to Ad-" Leni cut herself off before her thoughts suddenly turned to that horrible moment when Rebecca splattered the plum pie on her dress.

Her spontaneous change of mood did not go unnoticed, as Chaz saw a flash of distress across her face.

Shaking her head, she gripped Chaz by the arm as she hastily decided for a change of scenery.

They arrived at Leni's favorite hangout scant minutes later: The Royal Woods Mall

Leni seemed beside herself with joy, "Nothing like hanging out in a girl's favorite place: clothes, makeup, shoes. Oh, they're, like, having a sale! I am totes going to check that place out!"

Chaz followed her as she dove into a nearby clothing retailer. In many ways, Leni was the quintessential teenage girl, a blissful specimen who loved fashion, being popular, and having fun with what she did. In a way, similar to Dana, but maybe dialed up a number, or two, or ten.

"Oh, this blazer absolutely matches my eyes!" She gasped upon eyeing another article nearby, "I must have this! It's practically essential for my wardrobe!"

She ran up to Chaz with the clothes she had in mind, "So, Chaz, which one do you think is a better match for me?"

As a guy, who didn't have many female influences in his life (except maybe Dana, but Chaz usually gave her a wide berth, and Dana knows not to bother him with feminine stuff) Chaz had no idea how to respond to Leni's question, "Uh… I dunno, they both look nice, I suppose."

She gave them both another glance, "You're right! It would be a shame to pick one over the other, I'll get both!"

"That's not-" Leni was already at the counter, chatting it up with the salesclerk as she made her purchase.

Walking out of the store, Leni beamed with pride over her acquisition, "This is so much fun! Pies out in the park and shopping at the mall; this is the greatest day ever! Even better than when me and Ad-"

Once more, a look of pain, and the sensation of a dam about the burst behind her eyeballs crossed her face. It was only for about two seconds before she managed to regain her composure. She quickly led herself and Chaz out of the store.

They strutted down the mall, Leni once more being the source of conversation between the two. She mostly talked about inane things as related to her. When their feet started feeling weary and their legs sore from all the walking and running about, they sat down on a bench in front of the mall's indoor fountain.

"So… Chaz, I heard, like, that you got a job?"

Chaz nodded, "Yeah."

"So… what kind of job is it?"

"I work at Moss"

Leni looked puzzled, "You work in the woods?"

Chaz emulated her expression as she said it, "Huh?"

"I mean, like, I guess it has its uses, but I don't think there's much demand for tree moss."

Chaz greeted his face with his palm at Leni's total ignorance, "No, Leni, I mean, I work at a place called Moss. It's a clothing store that's a few blocks from my house."

Leni gasped, "A clothing store? That's so cool! I bet you know all the latest fashion trends!"

He just shrugged, "Well it puts food on the table…"

"And they give you free food? That just makes it a whole lot better!"

"That isn't-" he sighed, might as well just go with it.

They sat on the bench for a few more minutes while Leni continued her one-sided chat with Chaz. Talking about fun times and misadventures with her family, like learning how to drive (and getting into an accident… several times), singing backup (and howling "backup" and "what's on the page!" off-key a few times to impress him) and her brief stint as a hotel clerk (she didn't even know she worked for a hotel… which she didn't).

"Wow, I knew you guys lived a colorful life, but that's on a whole 'nother level."

"I know, right? It's totes fun to talk about this with friends, just like when I told this to Ad-"

If Chaz had a penny for every time Leni's thoughts "accidentally" wandered to Adam and that big stink that happened yesterday, he would have had three pennies today.

Third times the charm, they say, but in this case, Chaz was rather fed up with how Leni seemed to be trying to take her mind off of Adam and Rebecca, but in a roundabout sort of way, ended up coming back to it. There was something in her mind that was dying to get out, but for her sake, and the sake of others perhaps, she kept it to herself. Chaz, however, had an inkling that it was eating away at her inside like the lunch rush at Burpin' Burgers.

"Leni? Are you okay?" he managed to ask.

She shook her head, trying to shake off her bad memory, and put up a big smile, "Oh I am totes fine! Why? Did I have something on my face?"

He knew this was going to hurt her more than it would hurt him, but Leni could not keep doing this to herself, "Leni, I think… I know you're still upset about Ad-"

She suddenly placed her finger on his lips to shush him, "You know what? I think we should go watch a movie! What about Tra La Land? I heard that it's super adorbs and romantic!"

Chaz, normally a quiet spectator who tried his best to blend in like a fat wallflower, frankly had quite enough of her charade, "Leni, just stop…"

Leni was starting to get nervous now, "Stop? Stop what? I'm not stopping anything… except maybe traffic when I messed up another driving t-"

"Leni!"

He didn't know how loud he just said that, but loud enough that those within earshot turned their sight towards the two, their curiosity getting the better of them.

Leni looked somewhat terrified after Chaz's outburst, but the shock gave way to a gnawing feeling in her heart that she's been trying to bury since yesterday, a feeling that she wished she could forget.

"Leni…" Chaz managed to speak in a calm tone, "…you're still upset about Adam, aren't you?"

She was trembling now, just hearing that name punctured her chest and strangled her lungs.

"N-No… Of course not… why would I… even remember that… creep?"

"Leni…"

"Chaz… I don't want to talk about it." She said, turning away from him, feeling something getting ready to evacuate her eyes.

"Leni, it's okay."

"Okay?" She said, turning to him with an expression of bitter resentment painted across her face, "Okay!?"

She closed the distance between their faces, any measure of self-control she once had thrown out the proverbial window.

"Oh I am totes okay! I am not thinking about Adam one bit!" steam was venting out of her nostrils as she held her deluge of emotions back, "I mean, like, I am completely okay about him using me to get back at Rebecca! I am okay about how he fooled me into thinking he was the Romeo for my Juliet, or the Pinocchio to Goldilocks!" That last part didn't sound right, but Leni was in no mood to think straight, "I was okay about him and Rebecca…" her voice began cracking, as did the emotional walls she was straining to keep back, "…stinging me with their words and letting them call me stupid and scatter-brained and… and…"

Quivering uncontrollably, unable to take it anymore, Leni finally dropped all pretenses of emotional stability. For the second time now, Leni pressed her face against Chaz's shirt and poured tears upon it, wailing and babbling incoherently while Chaz held her tight in his embrace. He was no psychologist, but even he knew that bottling up one's negative emotions would scar someone for life.

Other people who passed them by looked at them with curious expressions; Chaz shot them a dirty look as if to say "get out of here" since now was not the time for outside intrusion.

After Leni calmed down again, Chaz brought her to the food court for some frozen yogurt. There was an uncomfortable silence between the two, neither of them looking each other in the eye nor a whisper passing between them.

After a few scoops of her yogurt, Leni finally managed to speak, "I'm sorry…"

He gazed at her upon speaking up, "Huh?"

Leni sighed, "I'm sorry, Chaz. Like, I know I didn't show it, but I really was still angry about what happened yesterday."

He had a mind to tell her that he kind of figured that out by now, but he decided now was not the time for that.

Leni continued, "I just thought he was the one, you know? Like, the one I'd spend the rest of my life with."

She listlessly stirred the contents of her half-finished yogurt, "You know what? I think I am dumb."

In a more lighthearted setting, and if he lacked a bit in empathy, Chaz would have dryly responded to the effect of "That took you a while to notice."

Instead, he responded with a blank stare, "What do you mean?"

"Rebecca and Adam said that I was the dumbest girl in school." Leni's head continued to droop, "I mean, maybe I am stupid… I mean, I fell for Adam's trick. Like, I've gotta be stupid if I fell for it so easily."

Maybe it was the sight of her morose expression, or perhaps his own experiences dealing with betrayal, or maybe he was just tired of listening to her self-pity. Regardless of his reasons, it was Chaz's turn to lose his self-control, because even a guy who tries to keep to the background has his limits.

"You're not dumb" he said with an uncharacteristic firmness in his tone.

Leni suddenly looked up at him with surprise, "Chaz, what are you-"

"Leni, you are not dumb." Letting his emotions get the better of him, he did not notice that his hands had inched towards hers, and gripped them reassuringly, "In fact, I think the only stupid ones are Adam and Rebecca! They're just a pair of losers, so they're basically made for each other, but they don't deserve to call you dumb! Why, any guy is lucky to have you: you're nice, and helpful, and considerate and… and…"

Once the short burst of adrenaline subsided, he finally noticed two things: One, Leni was lightly blushing as he was going on his tirade, and two: he never realized how tightly he was holding her hands.

Flustered by his unconscious boldness, he withdrew before composing himself, "The important thing is… Leni, you should stop being all choked up over Adam, there are other guys who deserve you more than he ever did."

Chaz turned away, somewhat embarrassed to get carried away in the heat of the moment. The two sat in silence after that, not sure what to do or say next.

With nothing else to do, the two teens headed for their homes. Chaz asked if Leni wanted him to accompany her to her house, but she told him not to bother. Before getting to the door, Chaz felt something hold him tight; it was Leni, hugging him.

As she let him go, Chaz turned around to see Leni smile, not a fake one either, but quite possibly the first real smile she's had all day since yesterday.

"Thanks, Chaz. See ya." She said before skipping off for home.

As he opened the door, he was greeted by Dana, with the biggest smug smile on her face.

"Dana? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I saw what you two were doing." She said, while keeping her smug face.

Chaz looked confused, "What are you talking about?"

"You know," she turned around so that her back was facing her brother, then she brought her hands over her shoulder and waist, making goofy kissing noises.

Chaz suddenly turned a ripe red as he realized the implications of Dana's statements, "S-Shut up, Dana!"

She burst out laughing at her brother's awkward reaction, while he gently pushed her aside as he proceeded to his room.

Shutting the door, he laid himself upon his bed, purging all thoughts from his head so as to relax. Just then Dana dropped in again, and Chaz groaned.

"Dana, not now…"

"Don't worry, I'm not here about that. I just came in to say that I'm proud of you."

He looked up to his sister with a curious look, "Proud of me?"

"Yeah," she walked up to him and sat next to him, "I don't know what it is you did, but I don't think I've ever seen Leni look so… sunny."

He sat up to see his sister face-to-face, "Really?"

"Trust me, big brother, I can read other girl's faces like an open book. Judging by how she beamed at you, I can tell that she got over Adam and then-some, in fact… I think she may even like you." She said that last bit with a hint of snark.

"Oh come off it, Dana! Why would she be interested in a tub of lard like me?" He said, with some self-doubt in his voice.

She suddenly hugged him tight, "Stop selling yourself short, Chaz! You may be a tub of lard, but you're also the nicest boy I know. How you've never had a girlfriend yet, I'll never know."

"Dana!" a voice called out from downstairs, "come downstairs and help me in the kitchen dear, I'm making pot roast!"

"Coming dad!" she stood up and was about to leave, but she turned to her brother one last time, "You better think about what I said, big bro." With a wink, she departed to help her father.

Chaz reclined again on his bed, heaving a deep sigh, his mind drifted to thoughts of Leni, and that smile of hers before she left for home. Inside, he did think she was kind of cute, but there was no way that a pretty girl like her would seriously consider liking him… right?

The Loud House…

Leni was inside hers and Lori's room, doing her nails.

"Hey, Leni…"

Lori walked in and threw a book beside her.

"…could you put our high school yearbook away for me? I literally need to go see Bobby at Gus' Games and Grub in a few minutes, 'kay?"

Before she could respond, Lori already left. Picking up the book, Leni flipped the pages until she came upon the class where Chaz was in.

She didn't know why, nor was she conscious of her action, but her fingers slowly landed on Chaz's face, and a smile played on her lips.

Chaz and Dana's house…

Chaz gave a loud sneeze while he was playing _Call of Valor_ on his PC, "Dang it…"

* * *

 **Final Thoughts** : One thing I worry about as I consider posting this is if it's too "vanilla" or "generic" for some people... What are your thoughts?


	2. Affection

**A/N** : In response to the few meaningful reviews of the previous chapter:

 **Guest 1** \- I'm glad you liked it.

 **Guest 2** \- I'm okay with Saluna, but I liked Cheni more.

 **Guest 3** \- Here's to hoping Chaz and Leni develop into something more in later episodes.

 **Guest 4** \- And here it is.

 **Someguy** \- It's refreshing to know that Leni isn't a stereotypical shallow blonde airhead.

 **That ManX** \- This whole story was thought up because the image provided the perfect setup, and I just had to take it. There's going to be two more, this one, and a third, and possibly a bonus chapter too.

 **Zexo87** \- Chaz doesn't have much of a personality shown in the sparse appearances that he's been in, so I'm kind of making it up as I go along.

* * *

Mondays…

Everyone hates Mondays, except if a holiday or inclement weather falls on a Monday, then everyone hates Tuesdays.

But mostly, people hate Mondays. A famous comic book cat immortalized the phrase and it entered the lexicon of casual speech for those who live the casual life.

Chaz hated the start of his particular Monday morning. His dad had to leave early for a construction project with his brothers' company, and he unfortunately didn't have time to make breakfast for his kids.

So Chaz and Dana were left to feed themselves. They couldn't have cereal, as the milk had spoiled into a goo vaguely resembling cottage cheese, and Chaz mentally slapped himself when they discovered that he forgot to seal the bread loaves, causing green, fuzzy mold to form around the crust.

They eventually settled for a bowl of microwavable breakfast in the freezer, but there wasn't enough for the both of them. Thinking fast, Chaz found some tortillas that were still fine. Dana heated them up and split the contents of their instant breakfast on the two tortillas. It wasn't much but hopefully it would get them through the morning period.

After freshening up in the bathroom, the two got dressed and prepared for school. He nearly had a small heart attack as he tossed and turned his room to find his homework. A honk from outside alerted them that their school bus was waiting.

"Chaz! Come on, we're going to be late!" Dana yelled.

Digging around, he eventually found the crucial item and lifted it triumphantly in the air before hastily stuffing it in his backpack and rushing to get to Dana who was standing in front of the vehicle's door, trying her best to stall for time as Chaz dashed in.

Seating themselves down at last, they were afforded a breather while they made their way towards Royal Woods High.

Passing through the neighborhood, he briefly thought about what happened yesterday, about his uplifting little speech he gave Leni, about that hug she gave him just before they parted, and Dana's little words of encouragement.

He recalled some of the nights Leni and Lori came over for sleepovers with Dana. He was sealed in his room for most of the night while Dana and her female friends were doing their girl thing. Feeling a hankering for a late night snack, Chaz headed down to the kitchen to check for some leftovers or other scraps he could scavenge.

Flashback…

Although it was dark, he could still see most of the kitchen. He saw that someone was already rummaging through the fridge, humming a tune in a feminine voice.

Presuming it to be Dana, Chaz walked up to the female figure, "Hey, mind if I get a bite to eat?"

The female suddenly jumped from her position and gave a loud scream, the next thing he knew, Chaz had a face full of tapioca pudding.

"Ow! What the heck?!"

"Ah! Tapioca monster!"

The female suddenly started attacking him with her hands, slapping him as fast as human hands could strike.

The lights went on as Lori and Dana entered the room, "WHAT IS LITERALLY GOING ON HERE?!"

Leni, who was attacking Chaz, ran up behind the two other girls, "Guys! It's a tapioca boogeyman!"

They turned towards the stout, messy pile sitting on the ground, covered in tapioca and a few light bruises. Dana rushed to him upon recognizing the food-covered boy.

Dana plucked a few sheets of paper towels to help him clean up, "Chaz! What the heck happened?"

"I just came down to get a snack when all of a sudden, I had tapioca on my face and someone attacked me."

Leni shrieked, "There's a maniac in the house!"

Lori pinched the bridge of her noise, "No, Leni, you attacked Chaz."

Leni gasped, "Wait a minute… I'm the MANIAC!?" She screamed running back up the stairs in a panic.

Lori groaned, "I'm going to try and talk some sense into her, Dana, just help Chaz clean up and we'll meet you in your room."

Dana took her brother with her to the communal bathroom downstairs, where he washed the bits of food stuck on his face.

"Boy, Leni sure is a bit of a fighter, isn't she?" she said in an effort to lighten the mood.

"Yes… she certainly was…" Chaz replied, making no attempt to hide his irritation.

"Aw, come on, Chaz. Leni didn't mean it. You know how she reacts to unexpected surprises."

Drying his face with a towel, he turned to his sister and gave a loud sigh, "I suppose, but that was still pretty dang annoying."

"Well, put it this way, at least with Dad on that trip with our uncles, he's not around to chew us up for making so much noise."

"You mean chew _you_ up, Dana."

She gave him a snide smile, "Oh we're both in this together, big bro, whether you like it or not."

"Whatever."

As they headed up the stairs and a little past the door to Dana's room, Leni could hear them speaking just outside.

"I still feel hungry, Dana." Chaz complained.

"Now you know what the doctor said, big bro, you gotta start cutting back on some of those calories."

He sighed, "I guess after that little heckling from Leni, I don't really feel all that hungry."

"Now don't be so glum, at least it'll be almost tomorrow in a few hours, and then I'll treat you to a nice breakfast, all right, Chaz?"

He nodded before going back inside.

The next day, Chaz awoke to the smell of something good coming from the dining room.

Walking downstairs and closer towards the scrumptious scent, he was greeted to a veritable feast on the table. A dizzying array of viands elegantly arranged and beckoning his salivating taste buds and ravenous belly to consume them.

Taking a plate and scooping up four strips of bacon, three pieces of sausage, a shortstack of blueberry waffles, a slice of omelet, and two French toasts, he wasted no time gobbling up the miniature smorgasbord like a school of starving piranhas.

Dana just laughed heartily at his appetite, "Well, someone woke up on the right side of the bed this morning."

"After the kind of nife I just haf… mornings like fis make… life worf living." He replied with his cheeks stuffed like hamster pouches.

"Careful, Chaz, you don't want to choke on your morsels now."

Slowing down in order to grind the food in his mouth more thoroughly and pushing it down with a mighty gulp, he resumed normal speech.

"I got it, I got it. Anyway, thanks for the breakfast Dana, you ought to work in a five-star restaurant or something."

"What are you thanking me for?"

Chaz looked confused at her reply, "Didn't you say you were going to make breakfast?"

She giggled, "Yes, but I only did part of it."

"Then… who prepared all this food?"

Dana handed him a little note. Chaz unfolded the little paper and read its contents.

It was a message from Leni, written in text language.

 _Hey Chaz,_

 _So, like, I'm really sory I thought u were some kinda monster or maniac. Anyway, I made breakfast for u wit sum help from Lori & Dana. I could tell u were totes hungry, so I made as much as u could eat, since Dana tells me ur a growin boy._

 _Leni._

At the end was a little cartoon caricature of Leni's face smiling and a crudely drawn heart.

Chaz couldn't help but smile a little bit. Sure, Leni was a bit of a handful at times, but she always means well and makes up for it when it counts.

"You see, Chaz? Leni may have her pitfalls… well, a lot actually, but she's an absolute sweetheart." Dana responded, looking rather delighted.

He munched on a bit of breakfast sausage slowly as he looked the note over again, "I guess…"

All things considered, last night wasn't so bad. He had tapioca thrown in his face and Leni slapped him silly, but at least she didn't pull a knife or Taser on him, which would have warranted a longer-lasting resentment.

The two continued eating, Chaz cleaning his plate down to the last crumb, and you could barely tell that the plate was being used at all, before he belched a good one that resounded nearly throughout the whole house, "Well, that's the sign that the tank is full." He said satisfactorily, patting his belly.

Dana smirked, "You are such a glue-ton"

Chaz laughed heart-heartedly at her butchering the word "glutton" as if to hit his nerve, "Ha ha, it is to laugh."

Rising from his seat with a satisfied sigh, he took his plate and utensils to the kitchen, where he briefly shrieked at what looked like ground zero. The kitchen was, to put it mildly, a "mess." A mess that saw no inch of the kitchen uncovered in grime, goop and slop, as though some hellion mushed food into a blender and sprayed the contents with a high-pressure hose.

Dana followed him not long after, looking unfazed by the disaster in the kitchen, "I tell you, though, Leni can sure leave her mark on a kitchen. We better clean this up before dad gets home and chews us out."

Chaz turned with a defeated gaze to Dana, who responded him with a cheerful look, before muttering something in resignation, "Good frickin' grief…"

End Flashback…

At school, Chaz prepared his material that he needed for homeroom at his locker, Dana getting hers as well next to his, "Hey Chaz, I'm going out with Joey on a date later this evening, and he asked me if you could watch his brother Skippy."

He turned his head to her after she asked, "Isn't that Benny's job?"

"Benny's got a skit with Luan tonight at the Chortle Portal, his dad is on deployment right now, and his mom will be visiting their grandmother in the hospital. His mom doesn't trust most online babysitters, and, as I've already stated, I'm going on a date with Joey, so that leaves you as the only one they'd want to watch over Skippy."

"Well, all right. I'll head over to his place once I've finished my shift at Moss. I heard Joey got _Battlezone One_ and I've been meaning to check it out at his house." Closing up their lockers, the two of them headed out to their classes.

As he passed through the hallway leading to his classroom, he briefly eyed the ones known as Adam and Rebecca, chatting away with sickeningly sweet playfulness, as though toying with someone else's feelings just two days ago was of no consequence to them.

His brow furrowed at the two as he thought back to what happened that day. Although he was never there to bear witness, he can only imagine how horrible the whole thing must be, a feeling he himself was more than a little intimate with.

Chaz arrived in his classroom and sat at his usual position a little ways to the back, next to the wall and where no one would be able to single him out, at least, most of the time. Next to him was Joey, his erudite compadre and a worrywart perfectionist. Joey's father was a US Airman, and this meant that he found himself having to move to other countries if his dad wanted his whole family to stay together. Having just started school in America meant that he barely knows anyone to bond with, unlike his previous school, but his insecurities were alleviated after making friends with Chaz and scoring with his sister Dana.

"So Joey," Chaz asked in the direction of the studious boy, "Where are you taking Dana tonight?"

Joey looked up and turned to his buddy, "Well, she has been meaning to make me watch that new Marvel Woman with me."

"Oh yeah, I saw that with my dad a week back. It was surprisingly good, better than the last three films they did."

"That's good to know." He replied nonchalantly, going over his notes and homework again just to be certain that it was flawless. A minute later, Joey soon recalled something that Dana spoke with him about last night, "By the way, I never asked until now, but how is Leni doing?"

"She's been doing okay…"

"Okay as in… she's managing it? Or okay as in she's over it?"

Chaz shrugged, "I guess you could say she got over it."

"You wouldn't happen to have something to do with that, would you?"

Chaz raised a brow, "What do you mean?"

"I heard that you put the moves on her," he said mischievously.

Chaz blushed as irritation formed on his face, "W-What are you talking about!?"

He puckered his lips and made mock kissing sounds, "I heard from the grapevine that Leni gave you a little hug and looked positively beside herself with bliss."

Chaz turned aside and shook his fist angrily, "Dang it, Dana…"

Joey leaned in with a look of sly interest as his expression, "Wanna tell me all about it?"

"Look, Joey, it was just a friendly hug, okay? She was going through a rough time and I helped her out. There wasn't anything more than that." Although that was his reply, Chaz couldn't help but doubt a few of the words that came out of his mouth.

"It's not like you to be in denial, Chaz." Joey replied, while snickering under his breath.

"Don't you have homework to double-check?" Chaz replied with an annoyed huff.

Joey took the hint and decided to cut if off for now, "All right then, by the way, Dana asked if you could watch my bro Skippy tonight, you available?"

Chaz nodded, "Yeah, I'll head on over to your house after I'm finished with my shift at Moss, cool?" he extended his fist for a bump.

Joey responded with his, "Cool."

The morning periods went by rather quickly, and before they knew it lunch time rolled around the corner. Cafeteria food tended to be typecast as being a poor substitute for home-cooked meals and the fast food vittles, and on any given day, it could be like that depending on the moods of the cooks. Chaz, however, was not particularly picky, and he'd hoard all the stuff he could get his hungry hands on. The lunch ladies made it a point to ration his meals because, as much as they love how wholeheartedly he eats their stuff, they care about him enough to make sure he doesn't pop the button on his pants.

Once he'd gotten everything he needed, he left to find a good spot to eat up. For most other students, the most logical thing to do was to find one's friends amidst the hungry crowd and sit with them. He had Joey and Dana, but his instincts as a wallflower told him to go and find a quiet spot where he could eat in anonymous solitude. The hustle and bustle of so many people really grated on him and finding an empty corner to be himself (and by himself) was the greatest of blessings.

Scanning his surroundings carefully, and drowning out the overcrowded sounds of the background, he saw a nice, vacant dining table towards the far corner. Smiling to himself victoriously, he proceeded towards his destination eager to begin the scarfing down of his tray of stuff.

Halfway through his trek across the cafeteria, one errant diner hurriedly rose from her seat and turned about without watching her path behind her, and she and Chaz bumped violently into each other, sending food into the air and upon both of the teens.

The noise and spectacle roused the other patrons to give attention away from their meals and banter and towards the site of the disturbance that abruptly filled the dining hall.

It was Rebecca, the girl had wanted to get up and go someplace to stretch her legs and maybe bide her time before the next class period. Now she was like a soiled canvas covered in sauce and food bits, a humanoid abstract painting, if you will.

Shock and surprise became indignation in the short seconds between the unfortunate accident and her face twisting with petty anger.

"You…" she quickly rose to her feet, breathing hard and gritting her teeth, her eyes piercing through Chaz's confused and frightened stare, as though needle-sharp arrows would fly from her pupils and stab him in the throat, "…look at this mess! Can't you watch where you're walking you clumsy…" she stammered a bit as fury clouded her ability to conceive an appropriate insult to him, "…fathead!"

"S-sorry…" was all he managed to say, but he knew that saying that didn't amount to much, and if he suspected that Rebecca was "that" kind of girl, she was not about to let this kind of accident slide without some massive compensation on Chaz's part.

"It's going to take more than apologies to clean up this mess, bucko!"

As if that weren't enough, Rebecca's significant other, Adam, pitched in, probably eager to come off as the snot-nosed princess' knight in spit-shined armor.

"You show him, girl! So, nuts-for-brains, how are you going to pay us back for this?" he leered with a menacing grin.

Chaz's heart was starting to palpitate; one of his worst fears was unfolding before his very eyes: being the center of attention. He could feel the gaze of what was nearly the whole high school body looking at him; most of them looked with cold indifference, while the rest could not help but grin at this unfolding of drama and humoring themselves upon the misfortune of others.

Chaz needed to calm down and think of a way to diffuse this before it got any worse, "Okay, I'll… what do you guys want?"

"Hey!" Rebecca placed one finger on his chin and lifted it up so that he could see the spite in her eyes, and he gulped at the possibilities of what that look could mean, "Look at me when you speak, pinhead!"

He felt trapped, cornered, like an ant in a rapidly flooding burrow. " _Just... please, leave me alone._ " He wanted to say, but he couldn't, the tension in the air froze him solid and his vocal chords seemed unable to form the response. Chaz hated this feeling more than any other thing in the world – to be stared at with hostile eyes and being forced to confront the victim of some blunder that was outside his capacity to avoid, much less foresee, and who was angry and not fully in control of their emotions.

"Hey!"

A girlish yell once more changed heads in the hall, and all eyes reflexively turned to the source of that voice.

But Chaz didn't need to guess as much as everyone else present as to whose voice that belonged to, so he wasn't surprised to find that it came from none other than Leni Loud; the girl who, after one rather peculiar weekend, now seemed to be on the back of his mind and took up half of his focus for most of the day. Standing beside her were Chaz's sibling Dana, and Dana's beau and Chaz's good friend, Joey.

Leni walked up to the spat unfolding in the cafeteria, her eyes seemed blazing with an uncharacteristically spirited fire that no one, save maybe her own family, had ever seen before. Her stride was firm and unyielding, her hands rolled into fists that spoke of the righteous fury building up in her, her head held up high and unwilling to back down, all signs of a person on a mission. Dana imitated her approach as she walked beside her, and though she seemed a bit calmer, she too was outraged by Rebecca's antagonism towards her brother and wasn't about to back down when her own flesh and blood was being threatened. Joey was the only one, it seemed, more interested in resolving the issue peacefully and averting the hypothetical bloodbath that things seemed to be heading towards.

Once Leni closed the distance between herself and Rebecca, she grabbed Chaz by the shoulder and yanked him away from her. "Hey!" Rebecca had a mind to butt in and chastise Leni for interrupting her personal business, but her resolve abated when she made eye contact with Leni, who actually looked sort of intimidating. This was definitely not the same airheaded Leni Loud that she and Adam shooed off just two days ago.

Leni turned to Chaz, asking him if he was okay, to which the latter nodded affirmatively.

Regaining her composure not long afterwards, her rage building up again, Rebecca hastened into Leni's personal space.

"Hey, retard! I've got business with the fatso, so would you please mind your own business?" she said holding little restraint in her tone of voice.

Without even looking at her, Leni replied in a cold voice, "Rebecca, leave him alone."

She continued to walk away with Chaz towards a bathroom where he could clean himself up.

At this point Rebecca was just about ready to blow her top. There were ten stages of anger, when this whole mess started, she was just at stage four, indignation, where she would tussle with her aggressor with some verbal jabs, but Leni's intervention just drove her two levels into stage six, infuriated.

In Rebecca's mind, it wasn't enough to just get her beautiful clothes all ruined by some portly ingrate. No, now the school halfwit Leni deigns to come to his rescue and expects her to ignore the whole ordeal and demand that she let it slide, like it was no big deal?

"LENI LOUD!" she bellowed with a voice like some raging banshee, "YOU AND THAT… THAT PIG BETTER COME BACK HERE THIS INSTANT OR SO HELP ME, I WILL…!"

"…Literally become a human pretzel if you lay a finger on them!"

Everyone turned around to see Leni's older sister Lori, staring long and hard into Rebecca with eyes like the Devil himself would drag the boorish drama queen into the boiling, white-hot rivers of the underworld.

Lori is well known for being a bit bossy and overbearing to her siblings, but it was only because she loved them to death and, as grating as they can be to her at times, she would never wish the worst for them no matter how tempting the thought was at times. Stoking the fires of her silent rage was the fact that Leni was the sister she was closest to and no one would dare try to push her around while she was present, lest they be twisted like the salty snack that was Lori's retort to those that light the fire of Royal Woods High's golfing prodigy.

"Now Rebecca…" Lori said, as she approached, her words seething with an unseen heat, "…why don't you get out of here and clean yourself up before I bend you a new one so bad the doctors won't know which end to start with!"

Rebecca's own petty frustration paled before the sight of Lori's wrath, and a slow, creeping fear made her way up her spine. Now it was her turn to be afraid, and she seemed petrified on the spot as her body refused to acknowledge any command she sent it. Only when Adam came in and placed his reassuring hands on her shoulders did she finally come to her senses.

"Easy Lori!" he said while laughing sheepishly, his confidence crumbling like wet paper, "She was just caught up in the heat of the moment, weren't you, Rebecca?" He turned to her, her face looking like the expression of a terrified sheep cornered by a ghastly predator on the hunt, "Come on, Rebecca, let's just get out of here and clean you up before the next period, okey-dokey?"

With a spring in their step, the two obnoxious teens bolted out of the cafeteria.

Lori sighed as she felt her herself cool off from the tense situation, and then she noted that people were still staring.

"Will you guys just get back to your lunches or something!? Gah!" no further words were necessary for them to comply.

Dana and Leni waited outside the boys' bathroom wile Joey was helping Chaz clean up inside.

Dana glanced at Leni, who seemed to be as concerned as she was about Chaz. She couldn't help but smile at the thought that Leni would stand up to the girl that broke her spirit last Saturday and defend her brother's honor too.

She mused to herself in her thoughts, " _Seriously, why aren't you his girlfriend or something?_ "

Leni noticed Dana's eyes, "Is there something on my face, Dana?"

She shook her head, "No, there's nothing Leni. I'm just happy that you helped my brother out."

Leni looked aside and fiddled with her hair, "Well, you know? Seeing Rebecca go after Chaz like that… like, that was totes uncool, he didn't even do anything wrong."

Dana gave a contented sigh, "Well, I'm just glad no one got hurt. Thanks for saving my brother's bacon."

"Rebecca wanted his food?" Leni replied, confused.

"No, Leni, I mean…" the door to the males' room opened and Joey and Chaz emerged.

"Well, it took a few minutes but Chaz is good as new! Sorta…"

Chaz still looked messy, but for the most part, he looked presentable, and that was the most important thing.

"So, Dana, did I miss anything important while I was in there?"

"Not really, but we're burning the hour away so we'd better head on over to class."

Before they parted ways to their respective classrooms, Chaz turned to Leni, "Um, thanks for what you did back there, Leni. It was real nice of you."

Leni gave him a cheerful smile and a hug, "Like, it was no big deal! I'm just glad I saved your pork!"

"Huh?" Chaz was briefly baffled but Dana told him to just go with it.

Moss…

Moss was part of a larger outdoor shopping center, just a short bike's ride away from Chaz's house and the high school. Dana decided to come along because she was eager to try and find a sweater that she had been eyeing at the store.

"O-M-G-O-S-H! Chaz, look at this!" Dana ran up to Chaz after spelling out the summary of her reaction, "This sweater is totally my color! The purples and the fuchsias really mesh well together!"

Chaz looked at the item in her hand, as far as he could tell, it was just a plain old sweater with purple and fuchsia horizontal stripes, it was no big deal, but then again he wasn't a girl who was into stuff like that, "That's fascinating, Dana."

"Come on, big bro, can't you show even a little interest, or support for your lil' sis?"

"Dana, we play video games, we watch the same movies, and talk about a lot of funny memes, like when pterosaurs attack and people are more interested in saving their margaritas. But I'm afraid this is unfortunately where the lines are drawn between our interests." Chaz replied matter-of-factly.

"Ah, you're no fun…" she pouted.

Looking over her shoulder, he spotted Dana's gentleman caller approaching, "Looks like your date's here."

Dana turned around and saw Joey walking towards them, "And so he is." She raised her hand to bump with her brother, "I'll be seeing you later at his house, okay Chaz?" he returned the gesture with his fist bump before she strutted towards Joey who welcomed her with a warm hug and led her out of the store.

About thirty minutes or so of time passed as Chaz continued his task, but mostly he was putting fallen pieces of clothing that people just carelessly and haphazardly put back on the racks. He supposed that he should be a little thankful since it means that he has a job, but it was still a thankless task and he eventually gets tired of the tedium of it all after a couple of minutes.

He failed to notice that there was a new visitor that dropped into the store. She was here hoping to find something that was new and possibly fresh, something that would knock her socks off and sweep her peers off their feet.

What she didn't know was that there was a spark that was about to be lit and, had she maybe turned back now; life might have played out like business as usual. But there comes a time in everyone's life when the Fates feel like tossing them an unexpected curveball that few people saw coming. Like for example, when Chaz found her crying near a tree, when he helped her overcome the pain of another's treachery, and when she stood up for him when he was alone.

Leni was browsing for clothes when she accidentally bumped into Chaz, "Whoops, sorry."

"Leni?" Today was just full of surprises for Chaz, his eyes widening at seeing her again so soon.

"Oh, Chaz! Hi, how are you?"

He shrugged, "Well, I've been okay, just workin' my elbow grease."

She gasped, "You should totes clean your arm, you don't want that stuff to grow any blemishes!"

"No Leni, I mean…"

He had little time to respond before Leni squealed like an infant schoolgirl as she started going through the selection, "This selection is amazing! Oh, I can't believe they don't have this at the mall, I would go here every day for the rest of my life!"

" _Classic Leni…_ " Chaz thought, shrugging as he continued his work, "Yo, Leni, if you need any help with anything, just give me a holler."

"OKAY!" She yelled, "IS THIS LOUD ENOUGH FOR A HOLLER, CHAZ!?"

He made a dialing motion with his fingers, "Maybe dial it down a notch."

So far, Leni was perusing every corner of Moss, but she still didn't find "the one" that girls would sell their mothers' gold teeth for. Whatever "the one" is Leni was having quite a difficult time of it because of Moss' enormous selection, something that Chaz's boss would brag about for hours, even if he had no eye for fashion and was only in the job because his mother was in charge of supply for other Moss outlets in the district.

"A sweater… a sweater… Dang it" she groaned in disappointment, "There's got to be a purple and fuchsia one around here somewhere…"

Chaz couldn't help but overhear what Leni was saying, not to mention the peculiar coincidence that Leni mentioned something that his sister Dana was gushing over like a kid getting boatloads of stuff at Christmas.

Unsure whether it was pertinent or not, he decided to at least show her the article that he had just seen a while ago. There was no harm in trying, and if she decided it wasn't what she wanted after all, then it was no big deal…

"Hey Leni, you want to check this out?" he picked up the sweater in question and presented it to her. Leni clasped her cheeks with her hands as the biggest, most excited smile formed on her face.

"Eeeee!" she shouted, "This is totes the one! Oh, it looks beautiful!"

She grabbed the item from Chaz's hands and spun around ballet-style while hugging the sweater that Chaz just gave her. Had she been watching her footing, she would have noticed a loose piece of carpeting and would not have suddenly tripped.

"Ah!"

With only a split second to spare before impact, Chaz impulsively reached out and tried to grab her hand. When that missed, he lunged further and placed both hands behind her before she could hit the ground, forcing Chaz to extend a knee in order to avoid tumbling down with her, both teens closed their eyes to anticipate the crash. Fortunately, no bodies would hit the hard floor.

"Are you okay, Leni?"

"I'm fine…"

Opening their eyes, they both blushed a slight pink when they realized how close their faces were from each other. Chaz could see the color of Leni's irises and Leni could see that Chaz's face was baby face smooth.

A wolf-whistle from one of Chaz's coworkers pulled him out of his stupor. Composing himself before he got any more flushed, Chaz turned his attention back to the task at hand.

"W-Watch your step." Was all he could say as he busied himself with his work.

"S-Sure…" Leni, sweater in hand, walked towards the cashiers to make her purchase.

Joey's House…

Later that night, Joey and Skippy were playing video games in the living room.

"Come on, Chaz! You're taking way too long!" Skippy exclaimed.

"Well, this is the highest difficulty in the game, you can't expect to just run in guns blazing like Sammy Stallion."

The grandfather clock in the living room made a loud ringing sound to signal that the night was putting into the old hours now and that bedtime had come for the younger children.

Chaz paused the game as he turned to the little boy, "Well, it's time for bed, Skippy."

"Can't we stay up a little longer?"

Chaz shook his head, "No can do, little buddy, I promised your family I'd take care of you, now get to brushing your teeth and I'll tuck you in, okay?"

"Fine…" Skippy replied in resignation.

The Loud House…

"Selfie!" Lori stated excitedly as she snapped a picture of herself and Leni, the latter wearing her new sweater.

Lori started scanning the handful of selfies that she and her sister took when Leni showed her the sweater, "Oh, this literally looks like the cutest one!"

"I know, right! This sweater is like, totes fabulous!" she said while shaking her hands giddily.

"I have got to hand it to you Leni, you literally always know what's fab in fashion today."

"Thanks," Leni moved to put her new article in the closet, "but if it weren't for Chaz, I wouldn't have found it."

"Oh?" Lori raised a brow, "did he now?"

"Yeah, I was having a hard time trying to find what I was looking for, and then he, like, just showed up with it in his hands. Isn't he just the most thoughtfullest?"

"Looks like somebody is infatuated." Lori said with a smirk on her face.

"Wait, I'm fat? Oh, I knew I shouldn't have gone to Burpin' Burgers four times last week."

Lori pinched her nose bridge, "No, Leni, it means that you like somebody."

"I do?" she replied, confused.

Lori sighed, "You are literally starting to like Chaz, aren't you?"

"H-huh, whatever gave you that idea?" Leni replied, a stammer in her voice, "I mean, just because he helped me get over Adam's trick and was really nice and considerate and then I helped him out at lunch to return the favor because I kind of think he's the best guy ever doesn't mean anything. It totes does not!"

As if on cue, Luna suddenly popped her head a little past the two oldest siblings' door, "I dunno, Leni, that definitely sounds like you got the hots for ol' carrot-top."

Luan burst in too, with her own interjection, "Yeah, he shot you like a duck in flight, and now you're _falling_ for him, haha! Get it?"

Everyone present groaned at her incredibly lame pun.

"Anyway, I think it's kind of adorable how in-denial you are Leni, it literally reminds me of when Bobby used to court me before we found each other, looking back on it now, I don't know why I used to think he was so lame…" Lori lied down on bed as she thought of her precious Bobby, and sighed, "Oh, I miss my Boo Boo Bear so much…"

Just then, her cellphone started vibrating, speak of the Devil, it was Bobby asking to facetime with her, "Oh, it's Bobby! Hang on, Leni, I literally need to take this call, 'kay?" and with a skip, she went off to the bathroom to speak with her boyfriend.

Though she doesn't usually talk about it, Leni liked how close Lori and Bobby were. They were completely made for each other in a way that not a lot of people understood, and while she was happy for her sister, part of her wanted to find her own soulmate someday, her very own "Boo Boo Bear" if you will, to share her romantic moments with.

She thought she found it in Adam, but that turned out to be a dead end, a terrible dead end. She was almost considering giving up on love after that, were it not for Chaz and his unusually thought-provoking words.

Alone with her scattered thoughts, Leni still thought about how cool Chaz was when he comforted her yesterday, and a gentle, loving smile and blush gathered on her face as she thought about how, up-close, he actually looked kind of… cute?

She didn't want to admit it to anyone, even her siblings, but it was less because she was in denial and more because she wanted to be sure that he liked her back. Deep inside her heart of hearts, she hoped that he did…

Joey's House…

Chaz sneezed loudly as he tucked little Skippy in bed, "Ugh, not again!"

"Gesundheit." Skippy replied with a ratty smile.

* * *

 **A/N** : I can't help but shake the feeling that I may used some words too many times in this story. Did I?

Also, I'm shocked (but not entirely surprised or upset) at how divisive this pairing is... oh well, at least it's fun to find that there are still shallow people out there to make fun of.


End file.
